Since September, we've had more than 303,000 comments, replies and 'likes' by close to 16,000 users.

We believe we can engage more segments of our audience, on a broader range of issues, by using methods other than comments.

That's not to say we won't ever open another story for comments again, but for the rest of this year we will be exploring other ways of engaging our audiences.

Here are five things we learnt during the comments trial:

1. Comments still have a role in this post-social media world

Many news organisations have framed their retreat from comments by saying that with the rise of social media, the audience no longer expects comments on articles.

However the response to our return to comments on news articles was overwhelmingly positive.

"Welcome back Auntie! You were missed!" - Brad Shannon

"Awesome!!!! Missed the opportunity to comment directly to the article. Feel that comments on FB just go nowhere." - flashmanthecat

"I, too, really missed the comments. Though I never contributed, I enjoyed reading them until they disintegrated into simplistic oppositional opinion fights. This time it feels a little safer and I am a little braver. I have joined up and ready to join in." - just thinking

2. Comments provide a valuable way for the audience to share their experiences

While we did have a band of loyal commenters (hey there, Rusty), over the course of the trial we had roughly 5,000 active commenters each month, meaning some people only commented when they had something personal they wanted to share.

Another thing we were keen to test during the trial was whether technological advances in moderation software would make the process more efficient.

The answer: yes, and no.

While Livefyre allowed us to automatically block profanities, and introduced an algorithm guiding moderation decisions, the vast majority of comments still needed to be moderated by one of us before going up on the site.

As well as the moderation resource, development and design resources are required to improve how comments work on the site (mobile, desktop, app and third-party platforms such as Apple News), and support resources for members of the audience who are having technical difficulties.

So what happens now?

While we are taking a step back from comments on ABC News articles for now, we still want to hear your stories.

"Anyway please have a good night moderators and I hope your dreams are of swimming in crystal clear waters teeming with different colour fish and corals or beautiful landscapes enjoyed with the people you love."

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